Q and A with Carson Palmer

Here is the group interview with Carson Palmer after the organized team workout on Tuesday:

Q: What stood out to you today?

A: It’s just the second OTA but just a really good chance for us to
come out and work on all the little things we’ve been working on in
the meetings and the playbooks. Just a chance to really get on the
field and run around and make some plays. The good thing is there
weren’t a lot of false starts or silly penalties and that’s something
that Coach came in from the first day and really harped on was we’re
not going to beat ourselves, we’re not going to give up the yardage
we’ve given up in the past. It’s good to see that we’re changing up
snap counts and doing different looks and formations. Penalty-free day
and that’s always good. But a lot of football to go, a lot of OTAs
left and a lot of work today.

Q: You joined the team in the middle of the year last year. How
important is it to you to get this full offseason and training camp?

A: It’s great. It’s great. Just getting a chance to know the playbook,
one, and get really comfortable wit the playbook in a practice
environment, in a non-live environment. But also getting used to the
personnel, the new personnel, the personnel that’s been here for a
while and getting used to guys running different routes and guys’ body
language, knowing certain routes guys like and where they like to
catch the ball on certain routes. It’s been great to train and get the
offseason training in, but also get to get out on the field and run
around and put the offense to work.

Q: What’s it like to have McFadden out there?

A: Awesome. He caught a screen today and did something that probably
not many players in the league can do. You get kind of, you can’t
watch him at my position. You’ve got to go through your progression,
you’ve got to go through your footwork, your hand placement, and then
do the bootlegs and not turn around to see what he does. That’s the
hardest thing for me right now is you want to watch him cause he’s so
electrifying and he can do so many different things. But I have a job
on bootlegs and things like that and I have to make sure I get him the
ball and then boot, but getting him on the field is just something the
defense has to key on and really focus on and it’s been great to work
with.

Q: How different is bootlegs and all that stuff for you to do? How
different is this from what you’ve run in the past and how are you
adjusting?

A: I haven’t done a lot, didn’t do much of it last year and a couple
years before that, but have done a ton of it in my career early on and
in college, did a ton of different nakeds and keepers and boots and
stuff like that. It really suits me well, it suits our personnel well
with some of the guys we have on the outside. They’re not stopping and
starting. They’re just putting their foot in the ground and going in a
certain direction and using their speed, and we’re exploiting their
speed with some of that stuff. It’s going to be really exciting and
when you’ve got McFadden back there and you’ve got to worry about him
actually getting the ball in the running game and all of a sudden you
realize it’s a pass after a play action, it puts a lot of stress on
the defense.

Q: Speaking of college, Matt Leinart. No getting away from him huh?

A: Yeah, yeah. Just got here last week. It’s been great to have him.
He’s been in this offense I think going on three years now so he knows
it inside and out, he’s been with Coach Knapp before and he’s been
great for Terrelle Pryor and I to kind of ask questions here and there
and ask him how he reads things. It’s one thing for a coach to tell
you something and a coach to coach you up on something but when
there’s a guy that has done the reps before and execute a play a
certain way, being a player it hits you a little bit different when
you get coached up from another player.

Q: What did you like that you saw from Criner today?

A: Made a couple great catches. And I think he proved that if you give
him a chance he’ll go up and get it. So he’s an exciting young guy,
Streater’s another exciting young guy. You don’t get a ton of draft
picks but there’s a lot of rookies here that are trying to figure
things out and when you stick out like that being a young guy and
you’re kind of the guy everybody’s talking about who made the most
plays, it gets guys excited, it makes other guys at the same position
realize there’s going to be a lot of competition there, so the thing
he has to do is continue that carry that through the rest of this
OTAs.

Q: Speaking of that competition, Bush is gone and you’re looking at
McFadden and who else can step up in that role. What are you seeing so
far?

A: It’s going to be a battle. That one’s going to go well into
training camp. You got Taiwan, who has shown tons of explosiveness and
done a lot of great things, Mike Goodson’s been making plays. There’s
a lot of guys that want to be McFadden’s backup, there’s a lot of guys
that are fighting for that job so that’s going to be an important
thing for us once we get into the third, fourth preseason game and
figure out who’s going to be in the roster and who’s going to be the
backup.

Q: Carson you spent a lot of time in Cincinnati and been here less
than a year. How’s your comfort level here in Oakland?

A: Very comfortable. Just getting comfortable with the playbook is one
thing but as far as being an Oakland resident, very comfortable, very
happy. It’s been great.

Q: How’s Terrelle developed with having a full offsesason?

A: He was in a tough spot last year. He kind of got robbed of an
offseason. That’s really when young guys develop is this time of year
and without all the OTAs and mini-camps and training camps, this is
really his rookie year. And he can’t look at it that way and he and I
have talked about that, but he just wants to get better every day and
he wants to improve every little thing he can. He’s got the perfect
mindset to be a young guy that’s learning a new offense. He
understands that there is a lot of room for improvement, and he’s
willing and wants to hear any criticism he can because he just wants
to get better every day. It’s fun to be around a young guy like that
that’s champing at the bit to get in there and get reps and wants to
steal your reps and wants to get in there and compete, but it’s been
great to be around.

Q: What kind of weapon do you think you’ll have in Denarius Moore?

A: I think Denarius is just going to build on last year and that’s
what he needs to do. He made spectacular plays, he made tough plays,
he made easy plays, plays in the return game, plays in the running
game on blocking but also in reverses. He kind of did a little bit of
everything. I think this year he can kind of really put it all
together and kind of be a complete player. He’s so explosive and can
do so many things down the field, but for him to take that next step
he needs to get more balls that aren’t deep balls or big posts down
the field for touchdowns. He needs to catch slants and curls and digs
and things like that. And the way things are lined up he’s the guy.
He’s our X receiver and I’m excited for him. I know he’s excited about
this year and he’s got a lot to prove.